


Owl's Song

by fuckemupshizuo



Category: Deadman Wonderland
Genre: Alternate Universe - Afterlife, Gen, happy nagi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 03:50:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2908304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckemupshizuo/pseuds/fuckemupshizuo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I just wanted to see Nagi happy for once.  Because he’s had such a shit life (and because I care way too much about this damn character), I wanted to portray him finally finding peace and happiness in the afterlife.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Owl's Song

**Author's Note:**

> *Even though his wife was killed while she was pregnant, I think Nagi would prefer an afterlife where the baby had actually been born, so I did that. Anything for Nagi’s happiness, man. 
> 
> *I also didn’t gender the kid because…well, mostly because I believe in raising kids gender-neutrally, haha.

Nagi Kengamine stepped through a door and into a seemingly-eternal field of yellow daffodils.   The sun shone above him, causing him to squint.  His eyes had a difficult time adjusting to the light and, as he stumbled forward, he noted that, wherever he came from, it must have been dark.

                But when he turned back around to confirm his hypothesis, the door that he had stepped through was mysteriously absent.  On all sides of him were nothing but daffodils.  Daffodils forever, reflecting the sunlight like a sea of gold.  He couldn’t help but smile, although his primary emotion was confusion rather than happiness.

                “I don’t know how I got here, but I feel…relieved.  As if I’ve wanted to come here for a long time,” the Deadman mumbled to himself, stopping to stroke a delicate flower between his thumb and index finger. 

                Although he didn’t mean to treat the flower roughly, it soon dissolved between Nagi’s fingertips, becoming nothing more than a yellow powder.  For a fleeting moment, the man considered raising the powder to his lips to see if it tasted like curry, but he soon came to his senses and, laughing to himself, he brushed the powder off on his pants.  He knew that his khakis would end up being stained, but he also didn’t care.

                Following his instincts, Nagi began to trudge forward through the field.  There was no path, no option but to make his own.  Somehow he knew that whatever path he took, a reward would be waiting at the end of it.

                “I wonder what it will be?” he asked, his eyes finally widening from a squint to their usual quiet gaze.  “Is it my birthday?  No – I think it would be a lot colder if it were.  It’s…well, it’s neither cold nor warm here.  There isn’t a single cloud in the sky, and it’s…it’s beautiful.  It’s an absolutely beautiful day, no matter what the date is.”

                Finally, the Deadman spotted a figure up ahead.  At first, he believed it to be a tree; however, as he got closer, he realized that it was a human.  With every step he took, more and more distinguishing features began to appear.   Long, black hair.  White dress.  A brown scarf around her neck.

                “It can’t be…”

                “Nagi!” the woman cried, running toward him.

                Warm, salty tears of joy streamed down Nagi’s face as his wife flung herself into his arms.  He cried out her name as he held her tightly, afraid to let go lest this all end up being a cruel joke.  He remembered that, in a past life, he had always dreamed of this moment.  But this, idyllic though it may be – this was no dream.

                “You haven’t met our little one yet,” she said, stepping back.  “Come back to the castle with me.”

                They took off running together before Nagi could ask what and where this ‘castle’ was.   She led him through the field, careening, veering to the right until the field began to lower into a hill.  At the base of the hill was a small town.  The two lovers stopped right before the decline.

                “I dare you to roll down with me,” she said.  “Don’t worry – you won’t hit your head on anything.  There’s nothing to hit it on, unless you roll into one of the houses.”

                “It’s on,” said Nagi, breathless with happiness and also from the sheer amount of running he had just done.   They must have been sprinting for miles.

                The two of them didn’t even count down from 10; the moment they hit the ground, they immediately began to roll at full speed.  Nagi couldn’t contain his laughter; the smell of the flowers and grass, and the motion of rolling down the hill, worked in tandem to generate nostalgia for his childhood.

                The ecstasy of being reunited with his one true love was amplified by the headrush he felt when he stood up at the base of the hill.  He was dizzy, weak, but also more alive than he had felt in years.  As he closed his eyes to stop the world from spinning, he imagined that he was made of a thousand twinkling stars; instead of a human being, he felt that he was a celestial cluster.  And yet, when he opened his eyes and looked down, he noticed that he was still the same old Nagi, a human made of skin and bones with a smattering of fat and muscle.  And  close behind him was his wife, made of those same components.  

                The town was composed of about 12 buildings, each built a very different shape and size, all placed within varying distances of each other.  Most of them were houses, but there also seemed to be a few public buildings.  The ground had not been paved; it was entirely made of natural, springy grass. 

                “You beat me!” Nagi’s wife called from behind him.

                He turned around.

                “That’s right!  Now, I wonder what my prize will be…”

                “Will a kiss work for you?”

                “Absolutely.”

                Nagi’s wife leaned forward, still breathing heavily and visibly exhilarated.  She took his head into her hands and drew his face into hers until their lips met with a satisfying tingle.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer, kissing her several times before remembering why they had rolled down the hill in the first place.

                “The baby!  Right!  Show me where we live!”

                “Alright, silly,” she said, pulling away and taking his hand.  “We live in this green house, right over here.   Every other house here is also occupied by Deadmans, but we’ll visit them later.  First, you should meet your child.  After all, isn’t that what you were fighting for all these years?”

                “Yes, but there was always a shadow of a doubt in my mind,” he said.  The mention of the words ‘Deadman’ and ‘fighting’ caused him to spiral into a depression he couldn’t explain.   “I didn’t think life could ever be this beautiful.  And once you died, I never thought I’d see you again…”

                _That’s right!_  thought Nagi, his eyes brimming with tears as he stopped running and recalled a faded memory of his last moments with his wife, right before she died during one of that sick fuck’s ‘experiments’.  _That bastard…_

                Nagi’s wife had stopped running toward the house and was walking towards him.  He stood with his fists clenched, glaring off into the distance, his face burning with anger.  And yet, his wife’s presence before him was all it took for his anger to subside.

                “Don’t think about that now,” she said softly, holding his face in her hands once more.  “That’s all over.  Let’s go home.”

                With his wife’s touch, Nagi immediately felt warm and content.  She began again to lead him to the house.

                It was a single-story, olive green home with many square, white-framed windows and a wide, screened-in front porch, the same one he had been dreaming about since his childhood.

                “We live in my spirit house?”

                “Yes, my love.  Our souls have always lived here.”

                Nagi walked up the wooden steps and turned the door’s silver handle.  The door opened to reveal the inside of the house, which was well-lit and cozy.  He wasn’t concerned with the décor or the architecture, however.  And as he walked into the family room and saw a young, dark-haired child sitting on the couch, smiling up at him, Nagi immediately knew who it was.

                “Daddy!” the young one screamed, kicking the couch over and over again in excitement.

                “I’m home,” said Nagi quietly, walking over to the couch and smiling as he swung the little one into his arms and against his chest.  “And I never want to leave.”

                “You don’t have to,” his wife’s voice drifted in from behind.  “You can stay here forever.”

                Nagi closed his eyes and, once again, he felt like his body was made of stars.


End file.
